The Twelve Project

Last year my friends Will Wright and Shannon Guillot-Wright asked me if I’d be a part of a project they started a few years ago called The Twelve Project.

I told them that I would be honored– I’ve admired their work in years past, and I’ve admired the fact that these two motivated people created a movement that directly benefits identified areas of need within their home community of Galveston, TX. Charitable work is always a wonderful act, but to be able to focus your efforts to benefit those around you is especially noble.

My duties involved a camera and my songs.

From the Twelve website:

Armed with a camera and a roll of film, 12 musicians are capturing their view of life behind the mic. In addition to their performances, each photographer will choose one photo for public display and auction benefiting Galveston area, arts-loving youth.

I carried around a fantastic old Olympus Trip 35 loaded with black and white film for a month and a half as I traveled around Texas (their one stipulation- all photographs had to be taken within the borders of the Lone Star state) on my way to and from shows. I probably pulled my car over at least fifty times to scope out a scene that caught my eye. When I decided that I liked what I saw I took the shot and recorded the location for each one. Soon, I was ready to return my camera. Truth be told, I was a little sad to see it go– I liked wandering around with my eyes peeled for interesting visuals.

Will sent me a link to check out the final products and instructed me to select my favorite shot. I loved a lot of them, so it took me a considerable amount of time to choose, but eventually I settled on this one. I grabbed this shot on the border of a field along FM 1376 across from the Armadillo Camp Ground, just south of famed Luckenbach, Texas. I’m glad I stopped when I did– by the time I came back through that area a few weeks later the alfalfa (or whatever it was– forgive me for my lack of agricultural knowledge) had been cut.

So, now we get to the charitable part of this story. You have the chance to bid for this one of a kind photograph. And, if you’re in the Galveston area, you can enjoy a night of music with myself and Ian Moore at The 1859 St. Joseph’s Church on Friday, December 12th.

Some of my friends are participating as well, including Walt Wilkins, Jamie Lin Wilson, Hayes Carll, and Matt Harlan. You can check out the photographs and if you’re moved to do so, bid on them, right HERE. — The auction ends at 9 PM CST on Saturday, October 11th.